SEC led nation in attendance in 2017 but also experienced largest decline in average crowd

Coming off an all-SEC national championship game, there’s no doubt the Southeastern Conference is still king when it comes to the product on the field. It should come as no surprise then that the league also attracts and has the most collected, rabid fans in the nation.

The attendance figures from last season bare that out.

According to the NCAA’s attendance figures, SEC games averaged 75,074 fans. That figure led the nation. The Big Ten ranked second with an average of 66,227 fans per contest. In total, 7,357, 228 fans attended SEC home games last season.

While those numbers are impressive, the issue is they are down from the 2016 season. According to the NCAA, the SEC averaged 2,433 fewer fans per game in 2017 compared to 2016. The ACC had the second biggest drop-off, as that league saw an average decrease of 1,292 fans per game.

The SEC had 11 programs rank in the top 30 nationally in total home attendance: